Related Content

The reporting period covers calendar year 2015, and includes the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Civil rights groups had raised concerns about an anti-Muslim backlash in the U.S. even before the attacks.

According to the data released Monday, there were 257 incidents of anti-Muslim bias in 2015, compared to 184 incidents in 2014.

The number is second only to the surge in hate crimes following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.

A portion of the increase could be due to an increase in reporting by victims as well as better reporting and tracking by law enforcement agencies.